Experimentation – how to destroy

At the moment, I don’t want to focus too much on creating a fashion orientated piece but explain and work on the concept of ephemeral instead. To know what is best for my final piece, I began experimenting with types of melting and displaying I can achieve

Dripping from the air

To achieve the uncontrolled effect of painting- similar to encaustic art- I first played with wax dripping from the air… verdict- probably failure as the fire kept lighting out due to the nature of flame. Below are the results of my experiment.

I am really intrigued as to what results I would get if candle was all dripped out, but as the smoke and flame from the wick creates a burning effect on the candle, black soot remains in the ‘painting’ which I think defaces the ‘beauty’ aspect I am trying to achieve.

The initial drips were really simple yet beautiful- but as time went by,
the flame turned wax into soot- then resulted in candle being put out
after all 

When flame was lighting/ melting the wax, it created a really impressive pattern- almost like a repelent chemical reaction - similar to Helen Storey's molecule experiements

I later turned candle back right round again- tilt it slightly and watched the wax drip from the side..... very tendious process !!!
The outcome of this is the image above... what do you think?

Melting with wick

 

Next I tried melting normal candles on a flat surface and documented it in a film .

The process takes a while to burn out but I think it really captures ‘life’ from the movement of the wax. The aftermath is also very calming and quiet compared to the dripping experiment. I think this style of display will represent better in my ephemeral piece- showing hints of destruction in a quiet yet damaging way

 

From these 2 styles of ‘melting’, I think the ‘wick’ melting works better in creating the uncontrollable and natural effect of destruction. Now need to plan what to melt.

My work and others

'' Seeing beauty in imperfection and accepting life’s transience; 'nothing lasts, nothing is finished and nothing is perfect'' Quote taken from www.wabisabi.com

Throughout this creative practice module, I have been focusing more on the neglected beauty of life, and somewhat the more depressing elements of its pass existence and state change. In this module I purposely tried to not think to hard in achieving my goal or a certain outcome, but to let my natural actions do all the work.

Repetition, Reflection, Undefined and Restriction were all words which I first noticed myself to focus on after the first and second field trip – with this at the back of my mind, I slowly grew to become more driving towards these works;  creating work that’s quiet, natural and in a way imperfect.

After midway presentation, Sian (Course tutor) directed me to understand the work of Wabi Sabi. This Japanese art group focuses on embracing the simple aesthetics of a piece of work. After further reading, I am really aspired to the Wabi Sabi movements of using imperfection to speak the perfect. Life itself isn’t perfect from start – however, it is the way we live and experience that makes our life ‘perfect’.

The patients of discovery and the growing of time is such a strong representation of Wabi Sabi that I now see myself working in this style without evening noticing it before.  It is really moving to understand and finally put myself in this context – at least I know I’m the not only one enjoying the beauty of life as it is and let nature do its talking. 

My final piece … ‘To capture the beauty of change and its aging nature’

As quoted on Wabi Sabi website

‘’ life awaiting discovery’’

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be,” Lao-Tzu

www.wabisabi.org.uk

This quote above is truly inspiring… just like the oblique strategy, I let go of my past pieces to await its beauty in another state - Will I be able to still let go of something I value highly- to then let it shine brighter and further in another form? Who knows, I can only let it be…

Helen Storey and Tony Ryan -Wonderland Exhibition- Sheffield

At this exhibition- a strong message was given. Reported on the BBC ‘Dissolving dress unveiled’, the producers of this piece Helen Story and Tony Ryan wanted to use this act to question the sustainability of the current fashion industry. Technology and science has been combined to create fibres and fabric that dissolve in water-leaving an underwater display.

BBC News, Dissolving dress unveiled, 18 June 2008

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7462496.stm

Wonderland - Image taken from showstudio.com

The concept is truly inspiring and the remains is somewhat stronger in telling us the story of ones survival.

Linking to the ‘Wonderland’ concept, the 2 professors also documented their experiments on film. These films can be found on ShowStudio website and I have especially evoked strong feelings for series ‘Video # 2, work in progress.

Video #2, work in progress, image taken from showstudio.com

Although the video has no direct links towards the final piece created, the display truly captured the life, movement and colour of the chemical reactions caused by dropping the treated fibres into water. Seeing this type of experiment has strengthened my desire to display and capture my work as a video. No one knows what will happen, and no one can tell the truth better than a video of the actual cause.

www.showstudio.com